I once had a beautiful color photo from an old F-1 magazine ( the ones you had to find at a newsstand that sold imports). It was the Copersucar livery after he left McLaren. One of my favorite drivers also.

F1 engine suppliers Ferrari and Renault appear to have won a battle in the long-running ‘freeze’ saga.

Mercedes’ struggling V6-making rivals have been pushing hard for changes to the existing homologation rules, where performance improvements of the ‘power units’ is tightly restricted during the season.

The next ‘freeze’ deadline was believed to be February 28, where all four 2015 makers – Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes and Honda – must present their engines to be homologated by the FIA.

But Ferrari and Renault had reportedly argued that a loophole existed in the rules, where they could start 2015 with last year’s engine and then introduce improved new power units at a later date during the season.

The BBC reports that the matter was discussed at last week’s Strategy Group meeting in Geneva, and “it now seems likely that manufacturers will be able to upgrade their engines after the start of the season as well as before it”.

Germany’s specialist Auto Motor und Sport is reporting similarly, claiming that any engine maker “who does not use all 32 (development) tokens by February 28 can continue to make progress during the season”.

Roger Benoit, a veteran F1 correspondent, wrote in the Swiss newspaper Blick that the ‘freeze’ saga is “so sensitive that Mercedes and Honda have already threatened to quit”.

Outspoken 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, however, does not buy into Red Bull chief Christian Horner’s argument that the engine rules need to be urgently changed altogether.

“He’s saying that just because they don’t have a Mercedes engine,” he told Italy’s Omnicorse. “Otherwise he wouldn’t want to change the rules.

“He’s not thinking about the good of formula one, but only his team and his future,” Villeneuve charged.

Ron Dennis says the Honda engine that will power McLaren next season already has impressive performance and that the main concern will be making it reliable in the remaining time frame.

Honda has been working on its new V6 turbo hybrid power units for two years but comes into the sport one year after rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault first ran theirs on track. This season Mercedes had a significant performance advantage over its rivals, but Dennis is confident Honda will not be lagging behind in that respect.

"The challenge for our partner Honda is hitting dates and reliability," he said. "The performance is pretty impressive but of course I can't share that with you."

Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai is confident McLaren Honda will be able to challenge at the very front of the grid from the first race in Australia.

"The new regulation package is very very complex," Arai said. "In Abu Dhabi we did a test and got many data and in that we were already one team as McLaren Honda. I have a strong confidence with our partnership we will win next year in Melbourne and start a new era."

Dennis said he had been most impressed by Honda's approach to designing and building the new power units at its base in Sakura, Japan.

"Going back to Sakura, it's hard to describe just how impressive Honda's motorsport R&D facilities are. The best way to describe the commitment is not to describe the actual facilities, but to share with you that the geography of Sakura is quite a long way - an hour on a high-speed train - from Tokyo, it's been built in virgin land so it's a magnificent facility, but of course that has required some of the most senior technical staff to relocate and move their families to this area. That isn't an easy decision for companies or technical people to take.

"You see that and you see the commitment and sharpness that these group of engineers have and the facilities. For example they have a very impressive mission control facility - we have one here [at McLaren] where your technical staff and back-up staff, sit, watch and participate in every aspect of the race wherever it is taking place in the world - but of course with Japan the time change is significant with most of the races. So away from mission control they have the facilities for 50 people to sleep and a restaurant to support them specifically so they can be there and be sharp when the race is taking place - this sort of detail and commitment is far more indicative of where we are going than the fact of having 30 of the latest and greatest dynamometers."

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne warns that the team faces another difficult season in 2015.

Any Ferrari fans expecting a pre-Christmas boost as the team a break before preparations for 2015 continue, was in for a major disappointment as the Italian outfit hosted a press conference ahead of its Christmas lunch.

While Marchionne refused to even glimpse at the ghost of season past, he admitted that his vision of the season future is looking equally grim.

"2015 will be a difficult year that will put the team to a real test," he told reporters. "We must forget 2014," he added. "I don't want to talk about 2014.

"2015 will be a reconstitution year," he continued. "It will be Maurizio's first full year with the team.

"We started late with the 2015 car, certain choices and strategies that were made by others and that, in retrospect, I don't necessarily share," he added. "So it will be a difficult year, though I think hopefully within the next 12 months we will remove all the baggage of uncertainty that is going to plague at least the initial phase of 2015.

"Not to underestimate the significance or the magnitude of the task, I think Ferrari can probably get to the same place (as Mercedes) by the end of 2015. Some of the work has already started. We need to be able to emulate their success."

Maurizio Arrivabene, the team's third team principal this year, revealed that having passed the mandatory crash tests, the 2015 car is on schedule. However, continuing Marchionne's pessimistic tone he admitted that two wins next season would constitute real success for the Maranello outfit.

"If we win four, we go to heaven," added Marchionne.

Finishing fourth in the Constructors' Championship, 2014 marked the Scuderia's first season without a single win since 1993.

In the wake of the continuing failure, the Maranello outfit has seen a massive overhaul at almost every level, not least the recruitment of Sebastian Vettel to replace Fernando Alonso.

Jacques has just now noticed that the F1 teams are only focused on their own self interest?

That's it boys. When he finally kicks, we appear to have found Bernie's successor. This man is an absolute genius.

Truly divine insight from our Jacques. Obviously his "just STFU already" filter is set to it's lowest level. We have people in the field as we speak, seeking a permanent adjustment to his bleating commentary. Updates as they come in. Stay tuned.

Truly divine insight from our Jacques. Obviously his "just STFU already" filter is set to it's lowest level. We have people in the field as we speak, seeking a permanent adjustment to his bleating commentary. Updates as they come in. Stay tuned.

Keen observation as usual Tack!

I said it before, I can't stand when old drivers think their opinions matter. Their opinions didn't matter when they were racing, and they sure as hell don't matter years after the fact. The majority of them don't have a clue what they are talking about or they are Captain Obvious, but JV is off the charts on my STFU already meter.

Unfortunately, the media has practically nothing informative to report on, so they rehash the same old crap and get "interviews" from has beens.

Thusly inspired, as a New Years resolution I move that for 2015 we all agree to refrain from any unrestrained outbursts of gratuitous utterances. Are all you dicks down with that? :-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my fellow thread mates!

First, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

I agree that the Scuderia is in a lot of trouble. Despite Sergio Marchionne's excellent record in the mass production business, that's a different matter from running Ferrari and a different matter still from turning around Ferrari's moribund F1 operation. It seems to me that Marchionne's continuing to throw Luca di Montezemolo under the bus has been a huge mistake. First it makes the Ferrari F1 team's people restive, and maybe resentful. Worse it ignores all the fine things Montezemolo did. Assuming that Marchionne's goal is to right the good ship Ferrari, it seems to me that his mishandling of the Montezemolo dismissal has made his job a whole lot harder than it had to be.

Jules Bianchi's parents have issued a brief statement revealing that the Frenchman remains unconscious but is able to breathe unaided.

The full statement reads as follows:

The parents of Jules Bianchi, Philippe and Christine, would like to provide the following update regarding Jules' medical situation:

"As we reach the conclusion of a difficult year for our family, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide a further update regarding Jules' medical situation, per our pledge to communicate continued information, when appropriate, to his many fans.

"It was a significant and very comforting step for us to be able to bring Jules home to France last month, to continue his rehabilitation surrounded by his family and friends. This is very important for Jules and also for us.

"Since that time, Jules has received the very best treatment in the Intensive Care Unit of Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice (CHU) and now at the CHU's rehabilitation centre for this kind of trauma.

"Jules' neurological status remains unchanged; he is unconscious but able to breathe unaided. Whilst there is no significant information to report, we take a great deal of comfort from the fact that Jules continues to fight, as we knew he would, and this has enabled the medical professionals caring for him to commence the planned, but very painstaking, programme of rehabilitation therapy.

"As we reflect on the events of the past few months, we would like to acknowledge once again the overwhelming warmth and affection shown towards our son. These continue to be challenging times for our family, but the knowledge that he has touched the lives of so many people all around the world has helped us through.

"We would also like to acknowledge the respect and support shown by the media towards our family during this time, for which we are extremely grateful.

"We will continue to provide information when it is possible to do so and our sincere appreciation to everyone who continues to pray for Jules."

Needless to say, we wish Jules, his parents and family, and those treating him our sincere thoughts and hope for further encouraging reports in the months ahead.